Citizens band radios, or “CBs,” have long been used for communication, primarily between truck drivers, but also by hobbyists and the like. Traditionally, the citizens band radio may have been the long-haul trucker's primary mode of communication. However, with the advent and widespread use of cellular telephones and other devices on the cellular telephone network, much of a truck driver's communication can now be done via a cellular telephone. Yet many truck drivers may still desire a citizens band radio for communication from truck to truck. For this reason, many drivers may still equip their trucks with a citizens band radio and carry a cellular telephone with them for communication with known parties or other parties that are outside the range of the CB radio.
Use of a cellular telephone communication while driving, however, has several known disadvantages. For example, the mere act of locating, retrieving, and answering a cellular telephone from, for example, a pocket, may be distracting to a driver. Furthermore, and of particular importance to drivers of tractor trailers, may be noise present in the cab of a truck which may overwhelm the capabilities of a cellular telephone. Noise associated with the truck's engine may make communication difficult. First, the truck operator may have difficulty hearing as the noise of the truck may drown out conversation. Second, the person speaking to the truck operator may be unable to hear the operator's voice, as a cellular telephone may pick up and transmit the ambient noise from the interior of the truck. Similarly, the noisy environment of the truck may make it difficult to even hear the ring of a cellular telephone.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a communication system that has the advantages of cellular telephone communication, while eliminating the disadvantages associated with using a cellular telephone in a noisy environment such as a tractor trailer. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a communication device which may be integrated into a communication device already adopted by many truck drivers and which is therefore already familiar to most drivers and may therefore be more easily used while driving.